Ragnarok Online (Korean:
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), often referred to as RO, is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game created by GRAVITY Co., Ltd. based on the manhwa Ragnarok by Lee Myung-Jin. It was first released in South Korea on 31 August 2002 for Microsoft Windows and has since been released in many other locales around the world. Much of the game's mythos is based on Norse mythology, but its style has been influenced by Christianity and various Asian cultures as well. The game has spawned an animated series, Ragnarok the Animation, and a sequel game, Ragnarok Online 2: The Gate of the World, is currently in development.
Ragnarok Online uses a combination of isometric sprites and three dimensional graphics in order to present the world of the game. Players are able to select the job, hair color and hair style for each of their characters. Gender also varies from player to player, but all characters on a given account have the same gender due to technical limitations and Gravity policy.[2]
Gravity franchises the game to allow distribution in a variety of locales not directly supported by the company. As of 26 March 2007, official franchises of the game are available in South Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brazil, Singapore, Russia, India. Service in Oceania was terminated on 2 March 2007, marking the first time a locale has been closed.[3] Two other less country-specific versions of the game exist, European Ragnarok Online serving Germany, Italy, Austria, Turkey, the United Kingdom and Switzerland and International Ragnarok Online serving North America and most countries that do not have their own franchise.
Four servers currently exist in International Ragnarok Online: Chaos, Loki, Iris and the Sakray test server. Other franchises may have fewer or more servers depending on the amount of demand for the game in the country in question. Some franchises include an Urdr server where player-killing is possible outside of towns. While many players of the International franchise have expressed interest in such a server for that franchise,[4] no action has been taken towards that goal as of 25 March 2007.
[edit] Interface
Both a mouse and a keyboard are required to play Ragnarok Online. The heads-up display consists of a log and chat window, a minimap, various menus and a status window detailing the current hit points and spell points, progress towards leveling up and encumbrance of the character as well as the amount of money he or she possesses. With the exception of the status window, all components of the heads-up display can be disabled by the player.
Icons representing status effects, regardless of whether they are positive or negative, appear at the right-hand of the screen. Menus allow the player to access his or her skills, stats, inventory and various configuration options. The player may assign hotkeys to streamline access to commonly-used skills or items on the function keys of the keyboard. However, there is another option that allows more freedom of skill uses through battlemode (/bm).
Character customization
Jobs are one of the most important aspects of Ragnarok Online, as the job a player chooses will have profound implications on his or her strengths and weaknesses, both in a party and outside of one. The job system includes a total of 39 different jobs, divided into 6 categories: Novices, Super Novices, First Job Classes, Second Job Classes, Transcendent Classes and Extended Classes. The list of job classes are as follows:
First Job Classes:
Swordman
Mage
Archer
Merchant
Thief
Acolyte
Second Job Classes:
Knight/Crusader
Wizard/Sage
Hunter/Bard/Dancer
Blacksmith/Alchemist
Assassin/Rogue
Priest/Monk
Transcendent Classes:
Lord Knight/Paladin
High Wizard/Scholar
Sniper/Minstrel (Male)/Gypsy (Female)
Master Smith/Biochemist
Assassin Cross/Stalker
High Priest/Champion
Extended Classes:
Taekwon Boy/Girl
Taekwon Master
Soul Linker
Ninja
Gunslinger
A player will change jobs multiple times over the course of playing, though the number of changes will be determined by choices made by the player.[5]
[edit] Quests
Ragnarok Online, like many other massively multiplayer online games, does not have a set plot. The game is essentially open-ended; players are free to roam the game world at their leisure with the only limiting factor being the ferocity of the monsters native to a given area. Some events are related to a specific time of year (such as the annual Christmas quest),[6] but most are available year-round.
[edit] Player vs. player (PvP)
Player vs. Player in Ragnarok Online takes place on series of maps identical to the game's major towns but devoid of all exits and non-player characters. Access to these maps is restricted to players level 31 and above and comes in two modes: Yoyo Mode and Nightmare Mode. The primary difference between the two modes concerns the penalties for dying; Yoyo Mode has no penalty for death, while Nightmare Mode has the experience point loss and item loss penalties that exist on all non-PvP maps.[7]
Discord
Light Style